Customer Story: Manzale Dawson

Manzale Dawson has a fever and the only cure is more Crème Brûlée ice cream.

His passion for MELT started with a google search. After his daughter, Brylie, won her first volleyball game this February, Manzale googled “Best ice cream in Fort Worth,” and ended up at MELT. When he and his wife tried our winter seasonal, Crème Brûlée—housemade caramelized sugar pieces in vanilla ice cream—it was love at first bite.

In his scoop, Manzale said he found the biggest piece of candied sugar he had ever seen. “I wanted to go back and show everyone,” Manzale said. “I think I’ve been chasing that piece of candy ever since.”

He did return pretty soon and pretty often after that initial visit. Although the Dawsons live in Lake Worth, MELT is a short drive from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, where Manzale is a deputy. He confessed to coming as often as twice in one day, sometimes in the same hour.

So, you can imagine his disappointment when Crème Brûlée’s season ended. Even though it wasn’t on the menu, Manzale kept asking scoopers for it. And when the scoopers started to recognize him, he began advising the customers behind him in line to ask for Crème Brûlée.

“My goal is to have it named after me.” (Surprisingly, Manzale didn’t know that we’ve done that before. Out of this Swirld was officially renamed “Still Out of this Swirld” this spring in honor of Brian Still, who was easily the flavor’s biggest fan.)

Even though Manzale’s beloved Crème Brûlée has not yet made a reappearance, he keeps coming back, most often settling for Chocolate Chocolate. He and his riding partner, Deputy Elijah Silas, come by as often as three times a week, if work allows. When they’re in uniform, other customers will sometimes buy their scoops.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that discovering MELT changed his life. It changed his driving habits. It’s a frequent topic of conversation—he tells co-workers, Tarrant County Judges, and strangers dining at the same restaurant that they should swing by. And thanks to a Father’s day gift from his daughter, Mikayla, Manzale’s wardrobe now includes a MELT t-shirt.”

Manzale is originally from Dallas and moved to Fort Worth for his wife, Kristi. “I told her, ‘I’m not moving to Ft. Worth.’” But they now live in Lake Worth, close to where she grew up. Despite the distance, the Dawsons still come often on the weekends.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that discovering MELT changed his life. It changed his driving habits. It’s a frequent topic of conversation—he tells co-workers, Tarrant County Judges, and strangers dining at the same restaurant that they should swing by. And thanks to a Father’s day gift from his daughter, Mikayla, Manzale’s wardrobe now includes a MELT t-shirt.

So, if a police officer taps you on the shoulder while you’re in line at MELT, it’s probably not because you’re breaking the law. He’s just going to tell you to ask for the Crème Brûlée ice cream. He’s not wrong, you will just need to be patient. Crème Brûlée is worth the wait!

Cheers to Manzale Dawson, Crème Brûlée’s biggest fan!